Although Iran and its emerging nuclear capacity are generating the big media
headlines, Syria is proving to be a significant threat to the security of
the Middle East as well. Bashar Assad's regime could very well trigger a
flashpoint in the region by its escalating aggression, particularly those
acts aimed at Israel. The heart of the matter is that Syria is a rogue nation
that aids and abets terrorism with alacrity. According to Sky News, a spokesman
for the Israeli Foreign Ministry noted that "Israel views every state
which is harboring terrorist organizations, and the leaders of those terrorist
organizations who are attacking innocent citizens of the state of Israel,
as legitimate targets out of self-defense."

In light of the most recent suicide bombing that killed 20 people in Haifa,
Israel engaged in a well-warranted military response that rained Israeli
air strikes upon a reputed terrorist training camp just outside of Damascus
last week. The Islamic Jihad organization, which claimed responsibility for
the Haifa attack, is being harbored and trained in Syria along with other
terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. (And make no mistake, Hezbollah
does have a salient terrorist component, even if it incorporates political
and social-welfare branches within its larger organization). Israel rejected
the subsequent ire and carping of the Syrians, citing Syria's collusion with
terrorist groups that continue to target Israeli civilians.

But the truth be told, Syria got just what it deserved. In fact, the Israelis
have demonstrated considerable restraint in response to Syria's history of
bellicose actions. Strikes and counterstrikes are all part of the ongoing
battle being waged between the two nations for more than fifty-five years.
Three major conflicts (1948, 1967, and 1973) have been initiated by Syria
since Israel's inception, and Syria continues to perpetrate low-intensity
warfare against Israel by-way-of terror assaults staged from Syrian-occupied
Southern Lebanon. There are palpable indications that another major conflict
is brewing between Syria and Israel, of that there is no dispute.

Syrian-based terrorists have now threatened to "escalate" attacks
upon Israel from their pivotal perch in Lebanon. As noted in the UK Telegraph,
these terrorists view the Israeli assault near Damascus as the "first
round in a new Middle East war". Apparently, the Syrian pro-terror contingent
believes that the Israelis have no right to protect themselves. It's unfortunate,
but this is the type of perverse thinking that the Israelis have had to contend
with over the years. And the logic of the UN and the European Union is not
much better. They are miffed that last week's Israeli air strikes could possibly
derail future negotiations between the two embattled nations. Does anyone
with wisdom really think that the long-standing enmity between Israel and
Syria will be resolved through diplomatic "peace talks"?

Syria, and other Mid-East nations for that matter, want Israel utterly annihilated,
expunged as a nation. No effective negotiations can be conducted with terrorists
or governments that work in tandem with terrorist cohorts. Certainly, Israel's
experience with Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat is proof-positive of that
truism. Ultimately, the Israeli-Syrian situation will have to be resolved
militarily, with Israel imposing peace after it subdues Syrian forces and
their terrorist allies, and any other Middle East forces that enter the fray.

The terrible reality is that an Israeli-Syrian war could ignite a larger
conflagration within the Middle East. Tremendous efforts to bring about peace
in the region by the US and the world community have heretofore failed. I'm
not optimistic. The downward trajectory appears to be set, barring some propitious
change such as the Iranian freedom fighters overthrowing mullah rule. "Regime
change" in Iran (in conjunction with the improving prospects of Iraq
and Afghanistan) could be the "tipping point", which creates a
new synergy in the region. The Middle East needs to move toward freedom rather
than embracing rage, warfare and terror activity. The young population of
Iran understands what this is all about.

The US is also fed up with Syria's aggression and pro-terror ways, noting
that the nation is "on the wrong side of the terror war". Therefore,
the House International Relations Committee has crafted and approved legislation
seeking sanctions against Syria in response to its possessing WMD's arsenals,
occupying Lebanon, financing of terrorism, and permitting Jihadis to cross
the border into Iraq for the purpose of waging combat against US troops and
other American led-forces. Reportedly, types of sanctions are under consideration
for the "Syrian Accountability Act", which is still being fine-tuned.
Unfortunately, it's doubtful that an unscrupulous outlaw state such as Syria
is going to mend its ways due to sanctions.

Carol Devine-Molin is a regular contributor to several online magazines.